Must Know Artists

There are times when music comes out and you find yourself saying, "Who is that!?" or "What is this?". These instances provide opportunities to look up, into, and around the music you hear so you can find out more about it. A few artists you should be looking into, if you haven't already, are provided here for your listening and viewing pleasure. I hope you enjoy these acts! Let me know what you think . . .

Bloc Party

~ British foursome who released Silent Alarm in February 2005 and A Weekend In The City in February 2007.

"One million people had bought the band's debut album . . . British music weekly NME made it their Album Of The Year in 2005 . . . in the UK album charts for a thumping 69 weeks. It wasn't just the London-based four-piece's home country that fell hard for their agit-jitter guitar pop. Bloc Party - Okereke, Russell Lissack, Gordon Moakes, Matt Tong - had received similar plaudits across Europe, and in Japan. They raced up the charts in 17 countries. In America, they were the only Nu Skool Brit guitar band that could sell out 8000-capacity venues." - Atlantic Records Website Bio

Get to know this band through Banquet (Silent Alarm) and Hunting For Witches (A Weekend In The City). Bloc Party has a sound that is infectious and good vibe-inducing. Their MySpace also currently features their latest single, "Mercury".

Editors

~ These Birmingham mates have a "dark" sound with a melodic guitar riffs and synth added in. They have drawn comparisons to Echo and the Bunnymen and even Joy Division, but Editors insist their style of indie rock contains too much of a modern feel to accurately be put along side of those classic British indie rockers. They honor the past while looking towards the future with their two albums 2005's The Back Room and 2007's An End Has A Start. Whatever you hear in this band, you're sure to be pleased with the tracks "Munich", "Bones" and "An End Has A Start".

Belle and Sebastian

~ A decade's old band who has only relatively recently gotten their due. The enthusiasm of the group's fans through a word of mouth campaign has garnered Belle and Sebastian much deserved props. I have to admit I only learned about these musical geniuses in late 2006, but I'm glad I did. The group's members have taken on many a side project throughout the years including participation in V-Twin, The Amphetameanies, The Gentle Waves, and Snow Patrol; nonetheless, the essence that is Belle and Sebastian sounds like groovy indie pop with a Scottish/British-influenced flow. Their official MySpace has all the songs that make them so good, including "For The Price of A Cup of Tea" (2006's The Life Pursuit) and "Like Dylan In The Movies" (1996's If You're Feeling Sinister). I also really enjoy the slightly more rockin' "We Are The Sleepyheads", also off The Life Pursuit.

Iron & Wine

~ Samuel Beam is Iron and Wine. Iron and Wine is Samuel Beam. Samuel Beam is a man! The stage name of Mr. Beam represents his indie folk rock gone groovy. Iron and Wine offers solid, yet slick music (like iron) but the tunes go down smooth (like wine) and satisfy your insides. OK, he didn't purposefully name himself that because of these reasons, but it makes sense to me. Just listen to "Naked As We Came", a mellow, folksy love song, and the equally as sweet "Sunset Soon Forgotten", both of Our Endless Numbered Days. He jumps to a slightly more upbeat tempo with "Pagan Angel and A Borrowed Car" and "Boy With A Coin" off The Shepherd's Dog. He really gets to the folk music lover in you.